I will always watch over you
by pistonsfan75
Summary: Katniss is home after the war. She spends every day in her rocking chair staring at the fire. Peeta's in the Capital for therapy, Haymitch has Effie and she's all alone, or is she? Every so often the lights flicker, Buttercup meows at something she can't see, or the doors and windows open and close by themselves. One-shots about Prim's ghost protecting Katniss. T for violence.
1. Watching over you

Katniss had been home for three months after the end of the war. Greasy Sae came twice a day to make sure she ate and kept warm. Peeta was still in the Capital undergoing intensive therapy with Dr Aurelius.

Effie had just moved in with Haymitch, after discovering the other Capital residents viewed her as a rebel and shunned her. The rebels viewed her as a Capitalite who had worked in the Games. No one accepted her anywhere, save Katniss and Haymitch. So that's where she went.

During the three months she'd been home, Katniss had never ventured past the kitchen and bathroom. Her bedroom was upstairs, but she had no desire to go in there. Every room held memories of Prim.

Each day, she woke up in her kitchen rocking chair, and sat there watching the fire until she fell asleep after the sun went down. She thought about Prim, Finnick, Rue, Mags, Wiress, Chaff, Thresh, Boggs and every other person she'd known who died.

Sometimes in the silence of her Victor's home, she thought she heard their voices.

Once, during a thunderstorm, she thought she heard Finnick ask her if she wanted a sugar cube.

Another day, she could have sworn she heard Rue's whistle.

In the wind, she almost heard Boggs calling "Everdeen!".

But nearly everyday, she heard Prim. Her laughter, her voice, her cries…

Most days the electricity was off to their district, but every so often the lights would flicker. The flames in the fireplace would dance like someone was blowing on them. Buttercup would suddenly perk up his ears at something, and either meow or purr.

One day, Katniss woke up to find Prim's favorite teddy bear next to her. It had been left behind in Prim's room when her mom and sister had fled the house just before the bombs destroyed their district. Greasy Sae hadn't been there yet, and she never roamed around in other rooms, anyway. She hugged that bear to her chest for hours.

Another day, Katniss woke up to find Prim's favorite hat on the table. She put it on her head and wore it for days.

Once, a movement caught her eye, and she saw a candle on the counter had been lit.

The front door opened and shut again every so often. Windows randomly opened and closed.

Prim was letting her know she was watching over her.

The phone rang and rang, until Greasy Sae told her she needed to start answering it. Katniss just looked at her.

"Seriously, Dr. Aurelius calls me to check on you every few days and he said you need to pick up the phone so he can actually talk to you."

So the next time it rang, Katniss answered it. She told Dr. Aurelius about her daily life. Her mom also called, and they talked about Prim and cried together.

Twice, the phone rang in the middle of the night. Fearing something had happened to her mother, or to Peeta, Katniss answered it. Instead of a familiar voice, a deep growl sounded in her ears. It was followed by a low, deep voice telling her that her days were numbered. That she would die just like Coin did.

Then she started getting more calls like that, at night, every night. After each call, when she would hang up, the lights would flicker. Prim was watching. Katniss found herself scared, and sleeping less and less. She hoped the threats weren't real.

But one night, they came to fruition. Katniss heard her door being jimmied open, and hid in the bathroom closet with the door locked. She heard people enter her house and from the sounds of it, there was at least two.

The intruders were two Coin loyalists from District 13 who had never liked her. They made their way through the darkened house with flashlights, looking in each room. When they entered the study, the lights suddenly came on. They stopped and looked at each other.

"Did you do that?"

"No, way!"

They turned to leave, but a vase crashed into the wall, barely missing their heads. A quick survey of the room revealed no one was there.

The lights were now on in the rest of the house. As they entered a spare main floor bedroom, the lights in there began to flicker. A shoe hit the back of one man's head, and a brush hit the other in the face. Again, upon further inspection, they found the room empty.

They entered the kitchen next. It was freezing cold. A heavy cast iron frying pan flew across the room and crashed into the wall, leaving a hole. More shoes flew through the air, hitting them and cupboard doors opened and shut. A loud, high pitched screech sounded around them, and they froze. They stared at each other, realizing an unseen force clearly did not want them there.

The older of the two raised his crowbar and pistol. "You will not scare us away! We will finish our mission and avenge President Coin's death." Another pan flew through the air and knocked him over, but he stubbornly got back up.

The two assassins walked towards the bathroom as more pans and vases hit them, and they pried the door open with the crowbar. The large bathroom was full of steam. On the bathroom mirror, written in the steam, was a warning not to touch Katniss or they would be killed.

Just then, something caught their eye and they turned and saw Primrose Everdeen standing in the room looking at them, a terrifying and menacing expression on her face. They both knew she was dead. They turned and ran out of the house immediately, their mission finally abandoned.

"It's ok, Katniss. They're gone." It was Prim's voice.

Katniss climbed out of the bathroom closet. Prim's spirit stood in the doorway. She looked transparent but beautiful, in a blue dress and blonde braids. She smiled at her older sister.

"I may not be here in person with you, but I will always watch over you. Always."

Katniss stared at her sister's spirit, transfixed.

"Thank you, Prim, for saving my life."

"Well, you saved me once. It was time for me to save you."

Then she was gone. Katniss turned and looked at the mirror. Written in the stream was the words that would terrify anybody.

IF YOU TOUCH HER, I WILL KILL YOU! PRIMROSE EVERDEEN

The house was a disaster. Shoes and vases were scattered all over. There were holes in the walls where pots and pans had damaged the drywall. The front door was damaged where it had been broken into.

Even though she knew she was safe, Katniss stayed awake the rest of the night. In the morning, she ran to Haymitch and Effie's house and told them what happened. They looked at her like she was crazy, until she convinced them to follow her back home.

The house was still a wreck. Even though the steam on the bathroom mirror had evaporated, the outline of the letters were still visible.

Haymitch looked at Katniss and smiled. "She's watching over you, sweetheart. Better than I could."

Effie gave her a hug and the two walked back home. Katniss started cleaning up the mess, grateful for Prim's protection. When the house was clean, she showered and changed her clothes for the first time in over three months. Then she hunted for the first time since the end of the war. That night, a single candle flame flickered on the counter. Katniss hadn't lit it.

"Thank you, Prim. I love you. I watched over you for years and now you watch over me."

Knowing Prim wouldn't want her wasting away on the rocking chair, she began to live again. She hunted, she walked in the meadow, she swam in the lake.

Peeta came home. They grew together. They made a book to memorialize everyone they'd lost in the Games and the war. Haymitch and Effie had two children. Katniss and Peeta had three. More people came back to the district, and it became a district again instead of a ghost town.

Every so often, the lights would flicker, or a candle would be lit. Prim was still watching over them, and always would be.


	2. Same ssh, different day

**I haven't forgotten about Straight to the Train. I'm working on another chapter for it, but the inspiration has been slow to come.**

 **I'm finally getting some ideas for Chi Fu Meets His End, too, but I haven't started writing yet.**

Just like every other morning since she returned to twelve, Katniss woke up in the rocking chair. Same shit, different day. She was alone, save for the ghosts of all the people who had died because of her. District twelve was a ghost town because of her arrow that blew up the force field. Peeta was hijacked because of her, never to return to his old self. Prim was dead because of her.

Greasy Sae arrived with her granddaughter and built up the fire and made her eat. Then they left. Katniss sat and stared at the fire, only moving when her bladder forced her to. In the evening, Sae and her granddaughter were back. After they made her eat a second meal and headed back home, Katniss stared at the fire again. The silence in her home seemed deafening, louder than any screaming mutt.

Dr. Aurelius had sent a bottle of pills back with her, something called Xanax, to help her calm down when she had nightmares. It was a sedative. Haymitch had insisted she take one when he'd carried her to her house the night of her return. The bottle had sat unopened on the counter for three months.

This particular night, Katniss cried. It was the first time since Prim's death that she'd ever cried. Even through all the months of solitary confinement, she never cried. While Peeta was in the Capital, she'd never cried. But now, she was crying. Her body heaved and shook with intense sobs until she passed out in exhaustion.

It was dark when Katniss awoke. The first thing she saw was the bottle of Xanax, illuminated by firelight. It would be so easy. She'd just go to sleep and never wake up. No more pain, no more nightmares, no more feeling alone.

Totally numb, Katniss stood up and picked up the bottle where it sat on the kitchen counter. Then she just stared at it. Release from all the pain lay right in her hand. She remembered how Peeta had grabbed the nightlock pill from her after she'd shot Coin, the determination in his eyes to keep her alive.

Shaking her head to clear his image from her mind, Katniss made her choice.

"I'm sorry, Peeta", she whispered. She filled a glass with water and turned the cap to open it. .

.

.

.

.

Haymitch was sleeping in his bed curled up behind Effie, his arm around her. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and opened one eye to look at Effie, but she was still sleeping. He closed his eyes again, thinking he'd dreamed it. Then he felt someone shaking his shoulder insistently, and a girl's voice whispering his name. His eyes shot open.

"Katniss?"

"No, it's Prim. You need to go to Katniss's house right now. She's about to kill herself with those pills." Haymitch jumped out of bed, and threw on his clothes. He couldn't see Prim, but he knew her voice. Effie was still sleeping. He didn't wake her. She could find out about this in the morning.

Before he ran out of the room, he paused. "Thank you, Prim, if you're still here." The curtain blew away from the window, even though it was closed. She'd heard him.

He threw a jacket and shoes on, and raced next door to Katniss's house. The door was unlocked, probably thanks to Prim.

Katniss stood in the kitchen with the bottle of Xanax in her hand, pulling off the cap. Haymitch raced to her and yanked it from her hand. Then he ran down the hall to the bathroom and flushed them all down the toilet. When he returned to the kitchen, she still stood in the same spot, staring at him.

"How did you know?"

"Prim"

"Prim? She told you to come here?"

"Yes, her spirit woke me up and told me you were about to kill yourself. Looks like I got here just in time. She's watching over you, Sweetheart."

"I guess so."

"You really think she wants you to kill yourself just because you miss her?"

"No, she wouldn't want that."

"You're right, she wouldn't. Next time you feel like killing yourself, you come talk to me and Effie, understand?"

Katniss nodded.

"Even if it's the middle of the night."

Katniss nodded again.

"Besides, Peeta should be home in a couple weeks. He would prefer you stay alive, too."

"Haymitch, do you think he'll be safe?"

"We'll see, Sweetheart. We'll see. You do seem to have your own resident body guard here."

Katniss finally smiled. All the years she spent protecting Prim, and now her little sister was the one protecting her. She went back to sleep after Haymitch went back home.

The next morning, there was a primrose on the bedside stand when she woke up.

"I love you, too, Prim!"


End file.
